Craig,
I have a question that has tormented me for a long time. I have always
known about the verses describing the unpardonable sin because I found them in
the bible as a young boy and they always scared me. Even reading them
made me think I was about to blaspheme the Holy Spirit against my will.
Years later, I went through a very hard time and truly believed that God was trying to punish me and that he hated me. After something very tragic happened I was so convinced that God hated me and was trying to harm me that I cursed the Holy Spirit in a fit of hurt/rage.
I was so deceived for a while...I used to curse God and
Jesus a lot but after I cursed the Holy Spirit I was terrified that my words
had sealed my eternity. Is it
true that I have committed the unpardonable sin? Can you curse God and
Jesus all day but if you curse the Holy Spirit then it is unforgivable?
Is that what
speaking against the Holy Spirit is? I would greatly appreciate any
advice.
Stephen
Dearest
Stephen, my brother, you have not blasphemed the Holy Spirit. I can assure you of this, both from the
scripture, and from my own personal experience. Having experienced the trauma of Job-like pain, and endured
severe chronic symptoms for the past ten years, I too know what you mean when
you say you got to the point of cursing God, or Jesus, or the Holy Spirit.
Before
I give you the theological rhetoric, let me try to persuade you what it means
to blaspheme, okay? The Greek word
translated in English Bibles as, “blaspheme,” is derived from a root words
origin meaning, “to hinder, i.e. (by implication) to injure.” This has NOTHING to do with anger or
resentment expressed toward God, or the Holy Spirit.
In the context of blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is rebuking
the self-righteous Pharisees for working against Him, when they KNEW Jesus was
God’s messenger.
The first time the Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons by
Beelzebul, the prince of demons (see Mark 3:20-30 below). Why did these evil scribes accuse Jesus of
this? They did so to “hinder”
(blaspheme) Jesus; even though they KNEW Jesus was doing these miracles through
the power of God. They were jealous of
Jesus, and felt threatened by his authority, and were fearful they might lose
their following, and the monetary profit that went with having the masses
follow their manmade system of religion.
Stephen,
you DID NOT do this. You were upset,
and yes, even deceived, but it was more out of personal pain and hurt, and not
to hinder the work of God.
The
second account of blaspheming the Holy Spirit is found in Luke 12:1-12, and
again, it is mentioned in the context of hindering the work of God. The “Holy Spirit” can be a reference to
Jesus himself, because he is the one who returns as the Parakletos
(Comforter/Advocate).
Jesus
says that words can be spoken as him as the son of man; to wit, they may say of
OR do something against his earthly existence.
However, once Jesus was resurrected, and later ascended, and then
glorified, he came back as the “Holy Spirit.”
I devoted an entire series on my web site to this, called, “Jesus Is The
Gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Stephen,
you said, “I went through a very hard time and truly believed that God
was trying to punish me and that he hated me. After something very tragic
happened I was so convinced that God hated me and was trying to harm me that I
cursed the Holy Spirit in a fit of hurt/rage.”
This
experience you endured was horrific, and I believe the devil used evil spirits
to torment you and make you feel that you had done something so terrible, not
even God could forgive you. But to
“blaspheme” the Holy Spirit means to “hinder” (to prevent and work against)
God’s spirit, and to do so to further one’s own spiritual agenda. This you DID NOT DO.
Please
promise me you will embrace this truth.
I can tell you that many other people have asked me this very same
question over the years, and the truth sets you free. God does not hate you Stephen, and I can tell from your email
that you are a very special and unique person.
Your
heart has been deeply wounded, and I am sorry for the pain you have
endured. I don’t know what tragedy you
went thru, but I can feel the pain you have gone thru, and hope my words will
be a part of the healing process God uses to restore you.
One
last comment Stephen; I knew this fear you have battled was not from the hand
of God, because of your statement, “I have a question that has tormented
me for a long time. ” Fear has torment Stephen, and the one who
fears is not perfected in love. God
loves you, and I believe you are very special and chosen by the Lord. A passage of scripture that has blessed me
is below:
1 John 3:18-24
18 Little
children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.
19 We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will
assure our heart before Him
20 in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than
our heart and knows all things.
21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence
before God;
22 and whatever we
ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things
that are pleasing in His sight.
23 This is His
commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one
another, just as He commanded us.
24 The one who
keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He
abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
NASU
1 John 4:4
4 You are from
God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater
is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
NASU
1 John 4:16-19
16 We have come to
know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one
who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
17 By this, love
is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment;
because as He is, so also are we in this world.
18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear,
because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in
love.
19 We love,
because He first loved us.
NASU
You are loved Stephen, by God, by Jesus, and his Holy Spirit. You are not living in torment, but in love, and if you embrace this truth, the devil can no longer torment you. You have done NOTHING to hinder God; you have only vented your pain during times in your life when you were weak and distressed. I have listed the two passages about blaspheming the HS below, but I have a feeling your heart has been set free.
“Father,
I pray for Stephen Lord, that You release him from this torment and fear, and
cause his heart to feel accepted in you.
In Jesus name, thank you Lord, amen.”
Love
always in Jesus bro,
Craigo
20 And He
came home, and the multitude gathered again, to such an extent that they could
not even eat a meal. 21 And when His own people heard of this, they went out to
take custody of Him; for they were saying, "He has lost His senses."
22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, "He is
possessed by Beelzebul," and "He casts out the demons by the ruler of
the demons." 23 And He called them to Himself and began speaking to them
in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 "And if a kingdom is
divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 "And if a house is
divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 "And if
Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is
finished! 27 "But no one can enter the strong man's house and plunder his
property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his
house. 28 "Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men,
and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy
Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin "-- 30
because they were saying, "He has an unclean spirit."
NAS
12:1 Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of the multitude had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 "But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 3 "Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. 4 "And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 5 "But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who after He has killed has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! 6 "Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? And yet not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 "Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows. 8 "And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man shall confess him also before the angels of God; 9 but he who denies Me before men shall be denied before the angels of God. 10 "And everyone who will speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him. 11 "And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not become anxious about how or what you should speak in your defense, or what you should say; 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say. "
NAS
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